Chaos reign: Devil May Cry
by Dante665
Summary: Rogue angels try to usurp god's throne, the powers of heaven interfere on earth, lucifer must restore balance, and so creates a powerful warrior named Chaos greek mythology reference, notFF7 Dante comes to save everyone's ass. again.
1. Chapter 1

"Master, are we near success?" a golden- haired being asked his Lord. His Master responded thunderously, "Everything is in place. Tell Rahab to move on with the final phase of our plan. The sinner must be used to kill the maiden. If everything works out, Earth shall be ours soon. And neither Hell nor Heaven will stand in our way."

The servant hesitated, a questioning look on his face. Finally, he spoke up. "My Lord, what happens if we are found out before this works out?" His master looked at him with contempt. "We were careful in planning this, unlike the fool, Lucifer. None know of our plans, save those who need to know. No one can stop us. At least, they won't be able to in a few hours, when Rahab possesses the gang member." The servant still had one last question for his Lord. "But Master, what if he does not seek our help? There is always a chance he won't choose us." The Master turned around, and hit his servant in the head. "You imbecile! Of course he will choose us; he has read extensively of our power, he knows we are the ones to turn to. Do not ever question my plans again, understood?" The servant looked to the ground, a look of seething hatred in his face. "Yes Master, I understand." And with that, the master and the servant returned to watching the final stage of their plan begin.

†

"Dude, where's Christine?" asked a tall, dark skinned person. His scrawny, pale friend responded, "She's sick." The first pushed back his long black hair, sat down, and said, "Again? Man, she is always sick. I hope it's not too bad." His friend looked up, flipped his black hair out of his face, and said, "It isn't serious, just a slight fever, and she was throwing up a little. She should be alright tomorrow. Dude, Lewis, I wrote this new song I want you to check out… the only problem is, I left it at my house. Can you come by later?" Lewis responded, "Dorian, I've been waiting for you to write a new one. We need a couple more before we can record our CD." Dorian smiled and looked up at an odd cloud formation. "Yeah, the CD does sound like it could be a lot of fun. Turns out quite a few people are willing to sell our CD's. Only one place says they won't sell unless they get some of the money, but everywhere else I asked says they'll do it for free." Now it was Lewis who smiled. "That's awesome. Thanks for getting all these places." Dorian responded, "Don't thank me; it was all Christine's idea." At that moment, a warning bell rang. Dorian sighed, and said, "Looks like we got to get to class. Meet me by the library after school." Lewis put on his backpack, said alright, and walked off. As Dorian was walking to class, a gangster wearing a blue bandana bumped into him. He turned around, looked at Dorian fiercely, and said, "Watch where you're going bitch!" Dorian fought the urge to punch the idiot in the face. So Dorian walked away, laughing at the stupid look on the student's face. When he looked back again, He saw a vicious smile contort the face of the student, and what seemed to be a smoldering red glow in the eyes of the person. When he looked closer, the student was gone. Unnerved, Dorian continued on to his last class of the day.

†

"Holy shit, this is a badass song! I'm gonna get to work on it right away!" Dorian looked once more at the lyrics to his song. "Glad you like it. Took me about two and a half hours to write… mostly cuz I was watching TV while trying to write it." At that moment, Lewis' phone rang. "Hello?... um, I'm at Dorian's… alright, be there in a couple minutes." Lewis hung up the phone and told Dorian, "Sorry man, but I have to go." Dorian looked slightly disappointed. "That's alright. See you tomorrow then." With that, Lewis left Dorian's house, and started walking back to his mom's car. Dorian stepped outside, and looked around. He loved the abundance of life. He then walked down to a hammock, laid down, and fell asleep.

†

Several hours later, Dorian awoke to the heavy metal riffs of Pantera as his cell rang. Wiping the sleep from his eyes, Dorian answered the phone. "Hello?" A mellifluous voice answered, "Hey Baby." Dorian sat up, and said, "Hey, how are you feeling?"

"A little better, still nauseous, but my fever's gone."

"That's good… still cant hang out today, can you?"

"Nope, grounded for missing school."

"That sucks… what about tomorrow? We can go see a movie with Lewis and his new girlfriend."

"That sounds nice." Dorian continued talking to Christine for half an hour. Finally, Christine said, "Well, I have to go, and you should do your homework. Talk to you later, bye!" Dorian smiled and said, "Alright, love you, bye!" Christine laughed a little, "Love you too baby, bye!" And so they were done talking, and Dorian went straight to work finishing an essay.

Later that night, Dorian called Christine to talk for a little and to finally say goodnight. His house had terrible service, so he had to go outside. Once there, he began walking, not paying attention to where he was going. When he finally said goodnight to Christine, Dorian noticed he was in front of a decrepit church near a dark forest. Interested, Dorian went inside. Instead of the holy decorum he expected, he saw ruins and gloom. Many years ago, this place must have been amazing. Dorian looked around, and noticed that all the windows were shattered, except one above the altar. This one depicted a being with its hands spread, yellow eyes blazing on a dark face. It seemed to have a multitude of red and black crystal horns growing like hair from its head. Its large, tattered red wings were spread, and Dorian saw that it had black wing bones. It wore black armor, and one hand was clawed in silver. Parts were obscured, but below the figure Dorian saw Latin writing that spelled out "Xaos incorporatus." Dorian knew only scattered Latin, but he knew enough to realize the words said, "Chaos Embodied." A faint chill crept down Dorian's spine, and he fled from the church, a nameless fear deep in his soul.

†

The next day was a Saturday, and Dorian had the luxury of sleeping in. At about 12: 15, Dorian finally decided to get up. He had a late breakfast, and then called Christine to say good morning. He arranged to meet her at the mall at 2:00. After that, Dorian called Lewis. "Hey Lewis, I'm meeting Christine at the mall at 2:00. You want to meet up around 6:00?" Lewis yawned, an indication that he too slept in. when he finished, he said, "Sounds good. Hey, what movie should we see? Cuz I was kinda thinking we should watch The Devil's asylum. It looked good." Dorian sighed into the phone. "It does sound good, if we weren't brining our girlfriends. I was thinking something more along the lines of The Water Horse. Christine did say she wanted to see that. Plus, I want to see it too, it looks good." Lewis thought for a moment. "Hey, now that I think about it, Angela did say she wanted to see that movie. Alright, meet you at around 6:00 then." With that, Lewis hung up the phone, and Dorian went to shower and shave. When he was finished, he drove his car over to the mall. The car was a gift for his seventeenth birthday. It was a slightly beaten up BMW, but it worked great. As soon as he stepped inside, he saw Christine waiting by the line to get into the movies. Christine was three months older than Dorian, and she also had a nice car. Her parents didn't buy it though; they were cheap and rather selfish. No, her car was a gift from Dorian, Lewis, and some other friends who chipped in allowances and paychecks to help her out. Dorian walked over to Christine. "Hey," Christine said, "What do you feel like doing?" Dorian looked around for a minute. "How about we go steal some junk? That's always entertaining, and after that, if you're hungry, we can get something to eat." Christine responded, "That sounds good. Hey, don't get caught, or I'll castrate you." Dorian faked a look of sheer panic. "Don't worry; with that kind of incentive, I'll never get caught." Christine sighed. "You have to learn that you really aren't all that funny." Dorian looked down. "Oh yeah, I forget sometimes." Christine shook her head, smiled, grabbed Dorian's arm, and headed toward Hot Topic. Several hours later, and with over $100 worth of stolen stuff, Dorian and Christine were sitting inside a Starbucks, drinking their favorite coffees, since neither of them was really hungry. Dorian reached into his pocket and said, "Hey, I got you something I think you'll like. He pulled out a shot glass and gave it too Christine. She smiled, and read what was on the glass. "Two drinks away from girl- on- girl action. Nice." She smiled and put it away in her purse. Several minutes later, Lewis walked in with his girlfriend, Angela. They sat down, and Lewis went to get coffee for him and Angela. They sat around and talked, and when they finished with their coffee, Dorian and Lewis went to buy tickets for themselves and their girlfriends. Dorian waved over at them, and they all went up to the movie theatre.

†

"That was a really good movie," Christine said as they all walked out of the movie theatre. "Yeah, I would like to own it, when it comes out on DVD." Said Angela. Christine smiled fiendishly and said, "Yeah. Dorian, get it for me?" She looked at Dorian and smiled sweetly. Dorian shook his head, smiled, and said, "Of course, anything to make you happy." Christine laughed a little and said, "Good." Lewis started laughing, but Angela gave him a fake slap. "Don't laugh, I want it too. And you can't steal it, since you tried to steal porn from Fry's. That means you have to buy it with your money." Lewis' smile quickly faded. "Alright," he said in a small voice. When they stepped out of the mall, they all heard a loud screech. "Damn! Goddamn idiots don't know how to drive!" yelled Lewis. Dorian was more paranoid. For some reason, he was gripped with unease. As everyone else started walking toward the street, a black car sped towards them. A window opened, and Dorian saw the same person that bumped into him at school, the white gangster, and his eyes were definitely smoldering red. With a gleeful yell, the gangster shot Christine, Angela, and Lewis, but not Dorian. The world seemed to slow down around Dorian. He didn't even notice the black car drive away, and disappear into the darkness. He just ran towards Christine's falling body, and managed to catch her before she hit the ground. All noise went away, and Dorian could only focus on Christine. She was shot through the heart, and Dorian knew there was no hope for her. Christine looked up into Dorian's eyes, her once bright eyes already glazed over. "Dorian? I want you… uh… I want you to... to know that I love you." And then silence. Dorian's sight became blurry, but he didn't yet register that he was weeping. He put a hand to Christine's cheek, shocked to feel that her skin was already becoming cold and pale. Slowly, Dorian's vision kept fading, and all his other senses were fading away as well, until Dorian finally sank into merciful Oblivion.

†

The first thing Dorian noticed when he woke up was the stark white room. He then noticed the beeping of machines, and the curtains, and realized he was in a hospital room. Looking around, he saw Lewis was in a bed nearby. Lewis didn't look too good. He had a breathing tube and several I.V tubes connected to him. Fortunately, his heart monitor registered a constant pulse. Dorian heard someone speak. "Doctor, one of them is awake." A second voice said, "Ah thanks Liz, I'll take a look in a sec." A few moments later, a tall doctor came up to Dorian. Other than the streaks of gray, the doctor looked rather young. "Well, you seem to be very lucky, you didn't get hit." Dorian cut in. What about my friends?" The doctor looked uneasy, grumbled to himself, "I guess this is part of the job," and cleared his throat. He looked at Dorian and said, "Your friend over there is in a stable condition, but he is in a fairly deep coma, and we aren't sure when he will recover, if ever. One of the girls, Angela, is also in a stable condition. However, the one the paramedics found you clutching… she died. I'm very sorry for your loss." The words hit Dorian like a ton of bricks. He had a terrible flashback of that night, Christine bleeding, and dying in his arms. Dorian began crying, and held his head in his hands. The doctor began saying, "if there is anything I can do for you," but Dorian cut him off and shouted, "Leave!" The doctor quietly got up and went to a bed at the other end of the room. Several hours later, the doctor returned and said, "You are free to go. If you'd like, we can call you a taxi." Dorian looked up at the doctor and said, "That would be nice. And, doctor, I want to apologize for earlier. I shouldn't have yelled." The doctor turned around and said, "It's quite alright. I know what it feels like to lose a loved one. Drive safely." With that, the doctor left, and Dorian was escorted out to the waiting taxi by a nurse. The drive to the mall was uneventful, and Dorian went to his car in a daze. He began driving home; not knowing what new horrors awaited him there.

†

As Dorian neared his home, he saw a red glow and black smoke curling high into the air. "Oh no," he said to himself. He sped up. When he got to his home, he saw his worst fears were confirmed. The entire house was burning, so Dorian jumped out and slowly walked up. He saw a car had barricaded the door. Similarly, the windows were all blocked by wood or metal. "_Why would someone do all this?"_ He thought to himself. Then, a chilling thought crept into his mind… While Dorian despised the majority of his family, he loved his little sister. Running to the large front window, he saw a ghastly sight. The charred corpse of his sister, burned while trying to claw her way out of a minute opening in the metal barrier. Dorian looked at her blackened skull, and felt the tears well up once again. Sudden, vicious nausea gripped him, and he began throwing up violently on the ground. Dorian dimly heard sirens approaching, and he suddenly felt himself grabbed by a strong person. Turning around, Dorian saw he was being dragged away from the house by a fireman, and as he looked into the streets, he saw police cars everywhere. It was more than Dorian could stand, and he collapsed yet again. Dark dreams filled his mind. Scattered images of charred corpses, fire, the gangster, red eyes. And then, a corpse- white face with yellow eyes and vampire- like fangs lunged out, shrieking. Dorian snapped back into consciousness, and saw he was in Christine's house. He got out of the guest bed and walked toward the kitchen. He saw Christine's mother sitting in a chair, watching TV. she heard him and turned around. "Oh Dorian, you are finally awake. Good." Dorian walked over and asked, "What am I doing here?" Christine's mother frowned and she said, "When we heard that your house burned down, we told the police you can stay with us for a while. So, while you were knocked out, we brought you here and let you stay in the bed. By the way, I know you probably don't want to hear this right now, but you are invited to Christine's funeral ceremony. It's an open casket affair. Cost us plenty too." A fresh wave of tears came to Dorian's eyes, and he barely managed to strangle out a thank you before he went outside. "_That bitch!"_ thought Dorian._ "She doesn't even give a damn that her daughter died!"_ Dorian stayed out until he could control himself, and then he went back inside. Sitting on the guest bed, his mind in turmoil, Dorian came up with the only logical plan…

†

Dorian attended the funeral, made up an excuse not to go back to Christine's house, and hid quietly. When everyone had left, Dorian snuck back into the room where Christine's body lay. He looked down at his lost love, whispered "nothing is worth struggling for anymore," and then he pulled out a knife. Pulling back his sleeve and gathering his strength, Dorian plunged the knife into his wrist, severing the radial artery. He bit back the urge to shout in pain and pulled the knife out. Switching hands, he plunged it into his other wrist, leaving two gaping wounds. Dorian looked at his wrists, saw the crimson blood flowing out, and felt himself go numb. He cut too deep, and couldn't hold the knife anymore. It fell to the ground with a loud clanging noise. Dorian hugged Christine, crying, growing colder and colder, until darkness consumed him.

†

Dorian awake to a wave of burning agony. He kept his eyes shut tight, only aware of a red glow coming in through his eyelids. As the pain faded away, Dorian stood up, looking around at this bizarre world. He was on what appeared to be a barren island floating in space. Dorian noticed some buildings, but they were in ruins, and a foul wind was blowing through the world. As Dorian looked into the space, he realized with a chill that he could only be in one place. Hell. His final act in the world of the living rushed back to him. Looking down, he saw the gaping wounds, no longer bleeding, but still there. An ominous red and black void was all Dorian saw beyond the island. "_Now what do I do? If this is Hell, it isn't that bad, just… boring. I wonder if I should go anywhere? See if I could find people or something," _thought Dorian. Suddenly, he saw movement off to his left. When he looked, it had vanished. He almost thought he imagined it when it happened again, this time in front of him. Suddenly, a strange creature crawled out from behind a rock. It was hideous, with a long tail, horns, cloven hands and feet, and large bat wings. Its scales gleamed orange; it had a hooked beak, and was skeletally thin. It looked at Dorian with blood red eyes. It began crawling towards him. Dorian backed away, looking as more of the creatures started appearing everywhere. They were not all the same. Some had more muscle, no wings, hooves, or other such changes. However, no matter what they looked like, they were all approaching Dorian with a hungry look in their eyes. Just as Dorian thought he was finished, a dark, booming voice yelled, "STOP!" Dorian looked up, and the demons all stopped, facing someone who was flying towards them with large, black wings. One of the demons did not heed the command, and it jumped at Dorian, who lifted his arms to protect himself from the claws and fangs. Before the demon got him, a large, flaming sword cut through the air, utterly destroying the creature. When Dorian looked, he saw an amazingly handsome man standing before him. The man had long, stark white hair, red eyes, and wore all black. Black gloves, cloak, boots, everything. He folded his raven wings and sheathed his sword, which Dorian saw was a seven foot long burning claymore. When it was sheathed, the fire went out. The tall being looked at Dorian and said, "Come, the Master is waiting to speak with you." Dorian stood up, looked into the creature's eyes, and asked, "Who are you?" The being let out a small chuckle, and answered, "My name is Sephiroth, and I am one of the ten Devil Lords. Welcome to Hell.

7


	2. Chapter 2

Dorian Faustus Ch. 2

Dorian warily followed Sephiroth through the wasteland. He wasn't sure what this Devil's intentions were, but for now, Dorian thought it was safer to travel with Sephiroth. However, the present circumstances did not stop Dorian's curiosity, and he finally got enough courage to speak to his savior. "Um… Sephiroth? Isn't that the name of the ten spheres god created, according to the Cabala?" Sephiroth smirked, and replied, "So, you are at least somewhat knowledgeable in divine matters. To answer your question, yes it is. I changed my name to Sephiroth when I was cast out of Heaven as a form of sacrilege. For you see, I am an angel of destruction and conflict, and in the Cabala, the Sephiroth are the guiding lights, bringing a person's soul closer to their god. I do the opposite; I drag sinners to the foul depths of Hell." Dorian was somewhat taken back by the sudden venom in Sephiroth's voice. "I take it you have a grudge against god then?" Dorian asked quietly. Sephiroth snorted and said, "My punishment was undeserved. I did not rebel, I merely agreed with Lucifer. We should not have to bow to humans. We were the first creations of god. Humans should respect us, not have us worship them. You see Dorian, we Devils are not the dark beings portrayed in your world. There were the foolish among us, the bastard Prince Mundus, and the traitor Argosax. Those wretches permanently made us evil in the eyes of humans. If not for the Dark Knight Sparda, Armageddon would have happened long ago." Dorian thought for a moment. He finally said, "Why couldn't one of you Devil Lords remove the threats? With all the power you seem to command, wouldn't it have been easy for you?" Sephiroth stopped walking, turned toward Dorian, and said, "It is much more complex than that. Lucifer and the Devil Lords are not allowed on earth. If we set foot on there, God and his angels will correct the problem by starting an amazing war, to eradicate all of us. Two powerful Devils, Argosax and Mundus, finally found a loop-hole. In order to postpone Armageddon, Lucifer sent one of the Devil Knights, currently fighting under Mundus, into the world. This Devil, who rebelled against his own kind to save humans, was named Sparda. For some reason, Lucifer shares Sparda's compassion towards humans. In Sparda's time, he managed to drive away many demons that went rogue with Argosax and Mundus. The powers of heaven and hell were at peace, for a time. Then, one of Sparda's children, a half- demon named Vergil, tried to acquire his father's power. By attempting this, he unsealed great evil. However, the other son of Sparda, Vergil's twin brother Dante, took on the role of his father, and protected humanity from the rogue powers of Hell. He has hunted Devils for several years. Lucifer greatly favors Dante, but has never been able to speak with him. Now then, we must hurry, Lucifer wishes to speak with you, and it is best we don't keep him waiting any longer." Sephiroth turned and began walking away. "Wait, I want to hear more," yelled Dorian. Sephiroth lifted his hand and began collecting light around it. He then pushed forward, and a strange vortex opened in front of them. "I know this must be fascinating to a human, and I am sure you will hear more. Lucifer enjoys talking to humans, so undoubtedly he will explain more to you. But for now, we must be going. Step into the void first, I will join you shortly." Dorian did not hesitate. He stepped through the doorway of light. As if there was not anything there, Dorian instantly stepped into a new area. Looking back, he saw the vortex was still open, and he saw the charred wasteland that he was just in. Looking around the new area, he saw it was a wonderful place, pristine and white. Dorian was on another floating island, this one apparently made out of white marble. All around him, there were amazing statues and buildings, many of them seemed to be from Greek and Roman times. When Dorian took a closer look at one building that caught his eye, he saw that it was, in fact, a Greek temple. It was the Parthenon, but not like Dorian remembered seeing it. This Parthenon seemed to have just been built, and it radiated power. Dorian walked towards it, seeing the lost statue of Athena inside. Suddenly, a hand grabbed Dorian's shoulder. "You like it? Throughout history, people have built such wonders to their Pagan gods. The Greeks, Romans, and Egyptians built many structures. In your world, their glory has been lost to the sands of time. However, in this world, these beauties are preserved as they were first built." Sephiroth looked at Dorian and smiled. "My wife especially enjoys these structures, seeing as many of them were built to her. I guess many of us Lords can be quite vain. Come, the greatest structure is still ahead of us." Dorian followed Sephiroth's gaze and looked across a great chasm to a magnificent palace. It gleamed like the sun, but in a way that didn't blind Dorian. Just as Dorian was wondering how he could get across the chasm, Sephiroth walked towards the island's edge. As he approached, large segments of rock flew out of the void, and landed under Sephiroth's feet, making what seemed to be a bridge. "Come Dorian, we are not much farther." Dorian eagerly ran to catch up with Sephiroth, amazed at all the things he was seeing. "_And if I didn't kill myself, I wouldn't have known about any of this," _thought Dorian. Sephiroth and Dorian continued walking, and more segments kept adding to the bridge, until Dorian Stood with Sephiroth before a great golden door. "Within these walls lies the throne of Lucifer. Inside, you will meet the other Devil Lords. Some of them, such as Archanfel and Sammael, are very opposed to your presence here. However, you need not worry. Lucifer will protect you. With that knowledge, let us enter this palace, so that Lucifer may grant you a new life." Sephiroth raised his hand, lightly pressed on the door, and they swung open, showering the two of them with radiant light. As the light faded, Dorian wondered what Sephiroth meant by new life. When Dorian looked, he was in a large, grandly decorated hall. At the end there was a magnificent throne, and on each side there were five smaller thrones. In nine of the thrones were seated strange, radiant beings. One of the thrones directly to the left of the central grand throne was empty. Sephiroth Flew forward, and sat in the empty throne. Dorian looked at each of these strange creatures, and noticed that Sephiroth held the hand of a dark haired beauty that sat next to him. _Must be his wife. Lucky bastard._ Suddenly, she spoke to Dorian. "Thank you for thinking that human. It is nice to have my beauty appreciated." Dorian tried to blank his mind as he realized his thoughts were open to these beings. "Dorian, come forward," a strange voice commanded from the center throne. It was kind, yet Dorian felt he should rush to do as he was asked. Dorian walked for ward quickly, staring intently at the being in front of him. As amazing as the other Lords looked, Lucifer was far beyond them. He was amazingly beautiful, with curly, golden hair, and golden eyes. He wore robes of the purest white, and he shone with light, something none of the other Lords did. Suddenly, one of the lords leaned forward and said contemptuously, "Lucifer, how can you allow a creature as lowly as this into your palace? Surely there are more reliable servants we can call upon!" Dorian looked at the Lord, and saw his emerald eyes narrow in dislike. Another of the Lords, one with white hair and lighter green eyes said, "I agree with Sammael. Lucifer, there must be some other way to go about dealing with this problem." One of the Lords stood up. He appeared to be a very old man, with a long white beard. "Archanfel, Sammael, I suggest you silence yourselves and allow the master to speak." Lucifer raised a hand, instructing them all to sit down and calm themselves. Then, he spoke. "Dorian, I have been waiting for you ever since we found out you attempted suicide. Please do not interrupt me, as I will explain why the events that led you to commit suicide happen, and why your presence here is so important. Let us begin. My spies on earth tell me that a group of angels have gone rogue, and are trying to take this world as their own. We still do not know who leads them, but it was this group that caused you so much torment. Their plans were to use you to bring their armies to earth. However, the plan backfired. The person that killed Christine was actually possessed by a rogue angel. This kind of possession is permanent. He is also the same one who murdered your family. The plan was to make you turn to these angels for help enacting revenge. They did not realize you would kill yourself instead. You see, Dorian, you are a strange being, capable of wielding tremendous power. The angels wanted your power to open the gate for them. You could have done this because your soul is rare. At the time, you were the only living person whose soul was tainted with Chaos. This made you exactly what the angels needed. I see you would like to ask a question. Go ahead." Dorian was slightly taken back. He asked anyway. "What do you mean when you say my soul is infected with Chaos?" Lucifer Stood up, raising one hand. A flash of light burst from it, and the landscape changed. Suddenly, they were in a sea of darkness. Lucifer spoke again. "The answer to your question lies in this very realm. Before heaven and hell, before all else was Chaos. From Chaos, the earth was born. God has been around as long as Chaos and he continued creating life with Chaos. The ancient Greeks knew part of the truth. In the beginning, Chaos was balanced, neither good nor evil. When I was cast out of heaven, I and the others fell into the Chaos realm. Because of my power, Chaos did not affect me. Instead, I absorbed it, and gained new power. Slowly, I cultivated Hell out of the Power of Chaos. The souls of the wicked are sent to be punished here, as we were. However, not all souls are punished. Those who follow me are rewarded. Likewise, not believing in god does not deserve punishment, so those souls are sent to live on one of the islands you saw. Anyway, back to Chaos. As I said before, Chaos was neither bad nor good, until humanity as a whole shifted. You see, human souls are born from Chaos, and so are tied to it. When most of the world is evil, Chaos becomes evil. As this evil spread, more and more creatures began running rampant. The weak angels that fell with us began becoming corrupted, turning into the hideous demons you saw. Soon, Chaos began spawning dark monsters, in a sad attempt to right the world. With this new group of rogue angels, Chaos has come to one conclusion. All life on earth must be destroyed, infusing Chaos once again with fresh life- force, so new, better life can be created. I'm sorry, I digress. To answer your question, your soul is tainted with Chaos because it was born from a strange part of the Chaos realm. It was born from Chaos' sentient part, and this happens very rarely. This means your soul could be the key to opening a bridge between worlds. The angels sought to exploit that. However, you landed with us instead. Now, the question currently brewing in your mind can also be addressed. What we need from you is to return to the world of the living, and help us stop this new threat to the earth. As you probably already know, we are not allowed to enter the world ourselves. Therefore, if you accept my offer, we will bring you back with new power, the power to enact your revenge, and to stop the destruction. Now, Dorian, I have a great favor to ask you. Will you accept my offer?" Dorian was reeling from all this new knowledge. He dully shook his head yes, and asked, "How do you plan on bringing me back to life?" Lucifer chuckled. "When you killed yourself, I had one of my agents keep your body alive. Well, not quite. He tricked the people who found you into thinking you had a pulse, so they have you in the emergency room of a hospital. We plan to resurrect you by infusing you with the sentient Chaos energy." Dorian was apprehensive. "How do you know this will work?" Lucifer frowned. "I must admit, none of us know the true extent of the power that Chaos holds. We are unsure what will happen to you. We know that you will be greatly strengthened, but we are not sure if you will be corrupted, or if you will retain your human form. You see, this has never been done to a human before. However, I am fairly certain it will work. Please Dorian, we don't have many options, and you are everyone's best chance." Dorian closed his eyes, remembering all the horrors he witnessed. Sorrow and a burning rage flooded Dorian. If nothing else, he wanted to destroy those responsible for his torment. Dorian opened his eyes. "I accept, on one condition. Can you bring Christine back to life?" Lucifer looked at him for a moment. Finally, he answered, "I can, but I am not sure what would happen. The last time someone was resurrected, the man only came back because he opened his heart to the darkness of Chaos, and was brought back as a fiend of the night, a demon in human form who sustained his dark existence on the blood of mortals. I will see what I can do, but I do not want another such creature made to plague the earth." Dorian did not like the answer, but said, "Very well, bring me back so I can stop these angels." Without another word, Lucifer carefully approached Dorian. Red and black light began gathering around them, and Lucifer grabbed Dorian's wrists, holding tightly to the deep cuts. Suddenly, Dorian felt an icy energy burn through his body. The feeling intensified until Dorian could take no more. He saw Lucifer look stunned, and then darkness.

†

"Doctor, the patient seems to be convulsing!" a nurse yelled as she noticed the patient begin to spasm. His life signs were fluctuating drastically. The doctor ran over, but stopped completely when he noticed a strange phenomenon. The patient seemed to be glowing with an ominous red light. Suddenly, the body flew out of the hospital bed, floating before them. The pale face lifted in their direction, and the eyes flashed open. They were burning with this awful red light. As the doctor watched, the patient was surrounded by an orb of black and red light. A strange roaring filled the room, and a foul wind was whipping papers and other objects around the room. The doctor tried to look into the orb of darkness. He could dimly see a strange outline. It seemed oddly shaped, taller. Suddenly, the darkness dissipated. The doctor looked with horror at the being that stood before him. "My god…" the doctor whispered as he began backing away. A Piercing, inhuman shriek emanated from the beast, and the doctor doubled over as a ray of bloody light burned through his stomach.

†

As Dorian regained consciousness, he was acutely aware of a horrible pain wracking his body. It was not so intense that he could not get up, so he cracked open his eyes, and observed his new location. He did not see the strange contorted world of Hell. Instead, he saw a familiar setting, though he did not know where he remembered it. Turning around, Dorian saw a damaged stained glass window. Suddenly, he knew where he was. The strange church he accidently walked into what seemed like ages ago. The ruined window was where "Chaos embodied" was shown. Since Dorian's exploits in Hell, that name had a dark relevance emanating from it. He now knew that this ruined church was once a place to worship Chaos, and the dark creatures that spawned from it. Dorian looked down at the fragments of glass, and was surprised to see the clothing he was in. He now wore silver armored boots, black pants, a black shirt, black gloves, and a tattered black cape. Most surprising of all was the strange silver gauntlet that now covered his left arm from the elbow down. The gauntlet ended in slender clawed fingertips. "Where did all this come from?" Dorian said out loud. His wrists began burning, and he heard the voice of Lucifer speaking to him. "Well Dorian, it seems as though your resurrection was a success. As for the new clothing, this must have been something your mind created while you were still unconscious. Using the massive ambient Chaos energies in Hell, you were able to craft clothing from it. The metal is silver, but indestructible and perpetually sharp, as a result of being made from Chaos. You have much to accomplish. I will leave you now. Go, and begin your mission." The burning vanished from Dorian's wrists. Unstrapping the right leather glove, Dorian was able to see that his wrists were healed. Instead of a scar, however, Dorian found a strange symbol. It seemed to be a large, upside down triangle with an x through it. At the bottom point, the lines curled somewhat through a small v shape. Dorian made a mental note to look up this strange symbol the first chance he got. But for now, he needed regular clothes to blend in with society. As though his thoughts somehow triggered something, the clothes disappeared. In their place were regular street clothes. "_This Chaos energy does seem very interesting. I will enjoy experimenting; see if I could realize its full potential."_ With that thought, Dorian left the crumbling church, walking in the direction of the mall. Perhaps he could find some clues there.

†

Dante was lazing around in his chair when he heard someone running towards his shop. He reached down and picked up Ebony. However, he saw his caution was unnecessary, as it was only Trish. She seemed distressed. "Dante, you have to see this," She said as she quickly walked over to a small TV they got only recently. Turning it on, she said, "It seems like a new demon has shown his face." Dante watched, interested, as there was a news report. It seemed that a hospital was blown apart, the remains covered in a strange red and black light. He listened to the reporter. "Any attempts to analyze the glowing material on the hospital ruins have lead in the instant death of whoever attempted to touch it. One moment please. It appears we have managed to find a video taken by a pedestrian, revealing what happened to this place. We will now chow you the video." After a brief pause, a new video was broadcast. At first, it showed a couple guys joking around, but not long after, an explosion was heard. The camera turned towards the hospital, where a room near the top floor was blown apart in a haze of bloody red light. As smoke curled out of the gaping hole, a strange figure walked out into view. The camera man zoomed in on it, but the camera quality wasn't the greatest. However, it was clear the figure was not human. Strange horns grew in a multitude form its head, and it seemed to be wearing all black, except for a silver gauntlet on its left hand, and silver boots. Suddenly, it snapped open large, red wings, let out a frightening scream, and flew into the air, leaving red streaks of light in the sky. It flew with amazing speed, and the cameraman lost it for a moment. He found it again, hovering above the hospital. It raised its hands above its head, and red and black lights began accumulating around its hands. Dante watched in horror as the demon created a large orb of energy. With a maniacal smile, the creature hurled the orb at the hospital, blowing it apart. The ensuing explosion shook the earth, and the cameraman fell down. When he regained his footing, the cameraman swore as he saw the burning crater, the cracked streets, and the glowing fragments that Dante had already seen. Dante turned the TV off, looked at Trish, and said, "Well, I thought it was starting to get too quiet around here. Looks like its time to hunt again." With that, he walked over to a wall, threw on his signature red trench coat, strapped on Rebellion, and began walking out. He turned to Trish and said, "This shouldn't take long. However, I do want you to go to the place Force Edge was confined in, before Arkham took it. I have a strange feeling this is all connected." Trish looked at Dante. "You don't think this is someone using your father's power, do you? I know they were somewhat similar, but you locked away that power. Dante, chances are this is just some lowly demon who found a way out. Don't worry too much about it." Dante holstered Ebony. "Trish, with what we've seen, we can't be too careful. There is something familiar about this demon; I just don't know what it is. I'll let you know if I find out more." With that, Dante left his shop, filled with ominous thoughts of what this new threat could mean.

7


	3. Chapter 3

Ch.3: Clash of the Titans

Dorian was once again at the mall, searching to see if he could find anything interesting. After several hours of searching, Dorian became frustrated, so he went outside. When he was fairly certain people weren't paying attention, Dorian jumped to the second story of the parking garage. From there, he jumped to a low roof, and crouched down. Focusing, Dorian tapped into the new energy he was still getting used to, and sent a thought probe to Lucifer. Lucifer responded instantly. "Dorian, what is it you need?" it was straightforward, but not unkind. "I need to know where the bastard that started all this is. I figured I might be able to find a clue here, but there is nothing," Dorian said, rather frustrated at the situation. Lucifer spoke after a short time, "It seems he and his friends are coming by right now. They are going to the food court. While he is still possessed, the angel controlling him has adopted a human lifestyle, so he doesn't arouse suspicion. What do you plan on doing?" Dorian smirked, and said, "Well, I'm already dead, right? It won't be a problem. Soon as I see him, I will beat him straight to hell. Make sure to prepare a suiting punishment for him." This time, Lucifer laughed. "It would be my pleasure to cause this angel severe pain. Him and all the others that are trying to take the human world. He is near." With that, the connection was severed, and Dorian narrowed his eyes, eager for the first phase of his revenge to go as planned. He jumped from the roof, and landed gracefully twenty feet below. Someone saw him, and was staring. Dorian turned his crimson eyes to the girl, and flashed her a charming smile. Then, he casually walked toward the food court, a strange bloodlust rising within.

†

Trish walked through the strange region of Hell, somewhat alert, but in general fairly calm. As far as demons go, she was fairly powerful, so she didn't have much to worry about. However, if one of the Devil Lords were to find her, it would be very hard for her to convince them that she was not in league with Mundus. However, the fact that her energy signature was similar to his was rather against her. She looked up, and realized she was rather close to the area Sparda sealed off so many years ago. She rounded the corner, and saw a large eye staring at her. Trish jumped back in surprise, but did not shout. A large, booming voice echoed out. "You are not welcome here, spawn of Mundus. Only Sparda and his sons should be here." Trish stopped, and said, "I was sent here by Dante to investigate this area. I didn't expect to find you here… What are you?" The massive eye narrowed, as though in sorrow. "Ah… I am the Devil Lord, Azriel. My form, unfortunately, was deformed horribly by the Chaos energies. And you are Trish. I know you now. Very well, our master trusts Dante, and since you work with him, I will let you pass. However, most of the other Lords are not so omniscient. They may go so far as to destroy you. I will do what I can to aid you. Now then, go around the corner there, and see what you can find. However, I do not advise staying too long. The regions of Hell are getting worse. Recently, the Fire Hell was finally returned to our control when Berial was slain by Dante. However, other regions have suffered." The great eye lifted, showing it was attached to a massive tentacle, and moved to a different area. "Weird…" Trish muttered to herself. She continued forward, and saw a strange phenomenon. The once white marble pillars were now black, and underneath the platform, an ominous vortex of black energy swirled. Trish jumped to the main platform, and saw where Force Edge once stood. "_Other than the pillars and the vortex, not much happened here. I wonder what Dante expected me to find,"_ Trish thought to herself. Suddenly, a strange scream resonated around the place. It was eerily similar to the demon on TV. Trish pulled two guns Dante gave her, Luce and Umbra, and began looking around. In this region, she was vulnerable on all sides. She saw a streak of black light, but when she turned, it was gone. She was about to put away the guns when she heard something behind her. She quickly jumped in the air, back flipping over her target. What she saw shocked her. It was Sparda. She fired as many shots as she could, and then landed, pointing the guns at the Dark Knight. When she looked again, she realized it only looked like Sparda, but looked more like a shadow version. She fired a bolt of electricity straight through the shadow's chest. When she stopped, the beast fell to the ground, disappearing in a multitude of black and red lights. She began walking back, eager to leave and tell Dante what she found.

†

Dorian walked around until he finally saw the abomination. Rage rushed into him, and he quickly walked over to where the creature sat, pretending it was human. Around him, his human "friends" were laughing at something. Dante walked up to the table. The people turned to look at him. One of the humans said, "What you want, fool?" Dorian smiled and said, "I want to kill your friend." There was a second of silence before Dorian's target started getting up. Before he was fully out of his chair, Dorian rushed forward, and threw all his strength into a bone- shattering punch. The angel flew backwards and hit a nearby wall. Dorian did not allow any recovery. He ran towards him, and kept pounding him into the wall until it cracked, and kept breaking. One of the friends ran forward and grabbed Dorian. Dorian stopped his assault on the angel long enough to fling the person away from him. When Dorian turned back around, he saw the angel was gone. "Damn!" Dorian yelled, thinking he lost the angel. This was not the case, as a fist slammed into Dorian's head with enough force to prove it wasn't human. When Dorian recovered, he saw the human floating a few feet off the ground. It spoke to him in a voice that resonated strangely. "Foolish demon, you should have stayed dead!" A fiery wind whipped past Dorian's face, and he saw the Angel reveal its true form. Two pairs of white wings spread wide, revealing a face that seemed cared from marble. Its hair was black, and its eyes gleamed red. The rest of its body was hidden behind light silver armor. The Angel drew its flaming sword and said, "Now you will die at the hands of Rahab, the only Angel trusted enough to put my master's plan into action!" With that exaggerated statement, Rahab launched himself at Dorian, the point of his sword aimed at Dorian's heart. Dorian stepped back, lifted his left arm, and smiled. When the sword struck, a shockwave of blue fire emanated out from them. "How could you stop me?" Rahab screamed, stunned at the strange transformation. Dorian now wore his black cloak, and he stopped the sword with his silver gauntlet. With a roar, Dorian knocked the sword back, throwing Rahab off balance. Dorian collected some Chaos energy on the claws, and slashed Rahab, tearing through armor and angelic flesh. Rahab stumbled back, clutching the bloody gash in his chest. "It seems I underestimated you. I won't make the same mistake again!" Rahab swung wildly with his sword, but Dorian swiftly evaded the onslaught, or deflected the sword. Rahab tried to cleave Dorian's head, so Dorian caught the sword with his gauntlet. Dorian then hurled Rahab into another wall. As Rahab flew through the air, he threw a ball of golden light at Dorian, who couldn't move quickly enough. The energy burned painfully, and Dorian couldn't see. In that moment, Rahab flew forward, and slashed Dorian repeatedly. Dorian fell to a knee, his bleeding wounds slowly healing. Rahab hit him with another burst of golden light, and Dorian fell gasping. "_It seems I didn't know what I was getting myself into. There must be more to Chaos than just this. Focus!" _Rahab approached slowly, confident that he would win. Dorian looked down at his gauntlet, and saw a strange blue light was emanating off of it. That gave Dorian an idea. As Rahab raised his blade, Dorian quickly jumped up, grabbing at Rahab's face. Dorian was amazed to see a larger, ghostly version of his claw launch forward, grabbing Rahab. Dorian smiled. He was going to have fun with this. Using the power of the gauntlet, Dorian Began smashing Rahab into the ground. He lifted him up, punched him away, grabbed him, and slammed him again. Dorian then took Rahab's sword, and, imbuing it with Chaos, plunged it into Rahab's chest. He then extended his claw again, hurling Rahab into a group of tables. Dorian looked with amusement at his gauntlet, seeing the energy slowly fade out of it. He briefly wondered what else he could do with the gauntlet, until an incredible pain shot through Dorian's body. When he looked down, he saw that Rahab had impaled him. "We angels do not die of pitiful wounds such as this. However, even though you have returned, you are still only human." He plunged the sword deeper, and Dorian coughed up blood. He managed to choke out, "Damn you Rahab!" The angel laughed, and sent burning energy running through the sword. He then quickly withdrew the blade, causing Dorian to fall to his knees, spilling his blood on the broken tiles. Rahab was walking away, ready to finish the job, when he felt a strange energy reverberation. Looking back, he saw Dorian's body glowing with a red light. Rahab said, in an awed voice, "Damn, you aren't human, are you?" Dorian's head snapped up, his eyes burning red, anger raging through him. Then, Dorian disappeared in a cloud of black light. Rahab's eyes widened, but before he could do anything, Dorian appeared in front of him, his hand rammed through Rahab's chest. With an inhuman growl, Dorian threw Rahab away. When Rahab looked back, he saw black and red lights obscuring Dorian. With a massive force, the energy dissipated, revealing a transformed creature. Rahab looked at this dark form in horror. "Chaos Embodied," Rahab muttered. Chaos spread his blood- red wings, and hurled a spear of red light at Rahab. When the projectile struck, a crippling pain washed over him. Chaos appeared in front of him, and grabbed his face, squeezing until the head caved in, spewing blood everywhere. With a maniacal smile, Chaos gathered an orb of energy, and, thrusting open his wings and arms, he sent a beam of black and red at the ruined form of Rahab. When the beam struck, Rahab screamed with absolute, searing agony, as his body slowly burned away. Before he was completely gone, Rahab heard Lucifer's voice. "So, Rahab, you finally get to join your brethren in Hell. I hope you like Chaos, because that is where your soul is going. So go, and feed it." And then, the human world disappeared, and Rahab saw only a brief glimpse of Lucifer before he fell into the swirling void of Chaos.

†

On the human world, Dorian fought a desperate battle. Now that Chaos was unleashed, Dorian found he was fighting a dark entity, trying to gain control of his body. Chaos' will was too strong, and Dorian submitted. All around, people looked in fear at the demon that stood in the middle of the ruins. With a fiendish smile, Chaos screamed, causing people all around to fall to the ground, crying and covering their ears as waves of suicidal depression washed over them all. Chaos spread his wings, and launched himself into the air. He looked around, and summoned a new energy. People closest to him suddenly seized up, and stiffly fell to the ground. Raising his gauntlet into the air, Chaos watched gleefully as red glowing orbs burned through their bodies, rising towards Chaos. As the orbs were absorbed into Chaos' body, Dorian realized with a wave of nausea that the crystals were the blood of the people, and Chaos was feeding by converting it to energy, and absorbing it. However, Dorian also felt something else. The more blood Chaos absorbed, the weaker his hold over Dorian was. Soon, Chaos had fed enough, and with immense force of will, Dorian suppressed Chaos. A white orb surrounded him, and when it disappeared, he was himself again. Dorian fell to the ground, gasping and trembling. He now realized what the cost of his resurrection was. If he wasn't careful, Chaos would unleash itself onto the world, taking hundreds of lives at a time. However, Dorian realized that with Chaos' power, he could easily defeat most enemies. He had to be careful. He could only allow Chaos to come forth when there weren't other people around. When Dorian recovered, he went to sit down among the ruins, watching fires burn and black smoke coiled everywhere. Dorian was surprised at how much damage he managed to cause. He looked down at the ornately decorated gauntlet, and realized it wasn't just a weapon. It had a twisted sentience that responded to Chaos. With a shudder, he called off the armor, repulsed by this new discovery.

†

Dante was riding his motorcycle at reckless speeds to get to the source of the smoke. He felt a strange energy spreading from the source of the smoke and fire, and he heard an inhuman screech several seconds afterward. He sped forward with a renewed burst of speed, wondering what kind of demon he was about to face. "_I wonder if Trish found anything. Oh well, I'll find out when I get back." _He saw he was at the end of his journey. A mall. And a large portion of it was destroyed. Dante stepped in what was left of the doors, one hand in Rebellion, one on Ebony.

†

Dante wandered around for a short time, until he finally saw someone. The person was sitting on some smashed concrete. He wore a black cape, and all black clothing. Dante stepped forward, and the person's head snapped up. He looked at Dante, eyes widened slightly. Dante was surprised to see the person had deathly pale skin, and even more strangely, wine- red eyes. "So, I take it you were the one who did all this?" Dante asked. The kid stayed quiet for a long time. Finally, he answered, "I didn't do all of this, but I suppose I played a part in this destruction." Dante saw a bunch of corpses littering the ground everywhere. They were strange looking, gray skinned and shrunken, as though partially mummified. "Damn, did you kill all these people?" Dante was slowly walking towards the person. The person dropped their head and said quietly, "Yes, that was all me." Dante was irritated that the person was showing so little remorse. Dante smirked and said, "So, I take it you aren't human, are you?" The person looked at Dante with a penetrating stare. He said, "I don't know what I am anymore. However, I know _you _aren't human either." This surprised Dante. "Alright kid. You see, I can't let someone as destructive as you get away, Can I?" Dante pulled out Rebellion, and stuck it in the ground. There was no reaction from the person, so Dante pulled Ebony and shot at the kid. Before the bullet hit, the kid jumped high into the air, and landed gracefully behind Dante. Dante smiled, and said, "Well, this is gonna be an interesting fight!" Dante ran forward, swinging Rebellion horizontally the person. He easily evaded the sword. "_Looks like I'm gonna have to try harder on this guy," _Dante thought. The person landed and said, "Look, I don't want to fight you. I did what I had to in order to survive." Dante hurled Rebellion at the demon, annoyed that he dodged again. Fortunately, Dante's throw did hit the guy on the arm, throwing off the jump. The person landed heavily on his knees, grasping his wounded arm. He pulled his hand away, and Dante saw the wound healing quickly. He called Rebellion back, and shot at the person. He dodged most of the bullets, but some managed to land. They didn't seem to do much damage, so Dante focused his power, and shot once with Ivory, unleashing a powerful bullet. It hit him right in the chest, throwing him backwards into some rubble. Dante felt a surge of force, and saw a red glow surrounding the person. His eyes burned red, but instead of changing, he forced it back. "Well, this is a surprise. A demon who doesn't want to show off his true form." The person crouched down, picked up a sword, and said, "To tell you the truth, I'm a bit scared of what might happen if I unleash my power. But, if it's a fight you want, it's a fight you'll get!" With incredible speed, the person launched forward, taking Dante by surprise. Instead of cutting Dante, He smashed him away using the flat of the blade. "_Who is this guy? I should take him out quick."_ Dante ran forward, slashing viciously at the demon. His attack was intercepted, so Dante pushed the sword back, jumped up, and kicked the demon in the chest. He flew backward, but shot a strange black bolt at Dante before hitting the wall. Dante slashed at the projectile, but it exploded on contact with Dante's sword. Dante flipped through the air, recovering and shooting at the demon. None of the bullets landed, because he used his strange sword to deflect most of the bullets. However, he caught the last bullet on the blade, swung around, and sent it back at Dante, who sliced the bullet inn half. "_Well, isn't this familiar? He fights a lot like Vergil." _Dante charged at him again, and swung rapidly. They attacked each other rapidly, swinging, blocking, and counterattacking. Neither could land a hit. Then, they locked swords. Dante saw the exhaustion on his opponents face. "Good fight, kid." He then pushed the swords away, and went to stab the person. Before he could, the enemy swung his blade back around, throwing off the stab and jumping away from Dante. As the person landed, Dante rushed forward for another stab, noting his opponent lost most of his former grace. The enemy saw the blade coming, and lifted his left hand to intercept the blade. When the point connected, a flash of silvery blue fire burst forth, pushing Dante back, but dissipating without doing any damage. When Dante looked, he saw a strange silver claw in place of a regular arm. It had strange, ornate carvings covering it, and blue fire spread over it. With a growl, Dante's opponent made a grabbing motion at Dante, sending out a ghostly claw. "_This is similar to Nero!" _Dante thought as he brought up Rebellion. The claw grabbed the sword, and the demon tossed Dante away. Dante spun around, and saw the claw grab him He was slammed into the ground repeatedly, but finally broke the claw's hold. Dante fired at the person, but the bullets were stopped by the claw. Yelling, the demon ran at Dante, charging the sword with dark energy. He swung at Dante, and a phantom blade burst forth, ripping up the ground. Dante blocked the attack, but he was thrown backwards. As he was getting up, he saw the claw reaching for him again. He didn't avoid it in time, and it got hold of his head. Dante felt the claw squeezing. Hot blood trickled down his face, and the pressure increased. Dante couldn't move to get Rebellion, and he didn't know where his opponent was, so he couldn't shoot them. He knew he didn't have many options, so he concentrated his power together, and transformed, unleashing a powerful shockwave. It released the claw's hold on him, and he saw that his opponent fell to the ground. Dante saw a look of panic on his opponent's face. Dante picked up Rebellion, rushed forward, and slashed powerfully at his surprised enemy. In a spray of blood, his enemy flew backwards, falling to the floor, blood pooling underneath him. Dante changed back into a human, watching the blood spreading. Suddenly, Dante felt a massive pulse of energy spread from the enemy. The person slowly got up, glowing with a red light. "You're not the only one who can transform." The enemy said. Black and red energy swirled around him, and a strange growling filled the air. Wind whipped Dante's hair and coat around, and when the light cleared, Dante saw the enemy's true form. The pale face was now grey as in death, with brightly glowing yellow eyes. It had a large number of thin, black and red crystal horns growing from its head. It screamed at Dante, closing its red, tattered wing around it. It unleashed its energy, sending endless waves of red light everywhere. Dante braced himself, trying to withstand the powerful waves. All around them, the remains of the mall were falling apart. The force increased, and Dante was thrown off his feet. He quickly regained his balance, and ran out of the mall. He got on his motorcycle just as the roof of the building exploded. The demon hovered above the mall, looking at Dante. He pulled out Ivory, and sent three bullets at the creature. Surprisingly, they all hit, and the creature flew away in a blaze of red light. Dante turned around, ready to go back to his shop, to see if Trish returned yet.

†

A man stood in front of _Devil May Cry_. He walked up the steps, and opened the doors wide. He walked up to the front desk, admiring a claymore style sword up on the wall. He rummaged through the drawers of the desk until he found a large, golden amulet with a red stone in the middle. "So, after all these years, he's still kept it," the man said. He took the amulet, put it on, and walked around the shop. "Hm… my luck isn't that great. Yamato is missing. Oh well, Force Edge will do." The man walked around the desk, and took the sword down from the wall. With a small smile, the man strapped the sword to his back, and walked out of the store.

8


	4. Chapter 4

Ch. 4: Fallen Angels

When Dante finally got back to his shop, he knew right away something was wrong. The doors were wide open, and he could here rummaging going on inside. He ran into the shop, his guns drawn. He holstered them when he noticed it was only Trish. However, she seemed very frightened, something Dante had never seen before. When Trish noticed Dante was back, she stopped her frantic searching, and ran over to him. Her eyes shone with fear. Dante grabbed Trish's shoulders gently, and calmly asked her, "Trish, what's wrong?" She took a few steadying breathes and finally said, "Dante, you were right, something strange is happening. When I went to check the area Force Edge was sealed away in, I fought what seemed to be a doppelganger of Sparda. I killed it easily enough, but when I got here, I noticed that Force Edge was gone, as well as Vergil's amulet!" Dante looked at the wall, noticed she was right, and frowned. It felt as though Trish wasn't telling him something. They faced worse and Trish hadn't shown any fear then, but something has her completely shaken now. "Trish, is there something you aren't telling me?" Dante asked her quietly. Trish looked away and said, "There is one other thing… before you got here, I saw a red streak in the sky. I went to get a better look, and I saw a demon that resembled Sparda. It had a strange silver claw. I shot at it, and when it saw me, it only looked at me with pure hate, and then screamed. It was the most horrid noise I've ever heard. It filled me with hopelessness and absolute despair. I just wanted to die, and I almost did kill myself. I don't understand it, but it must have been some kind of power that thing possessed…" Trish fell into silence. Dante felt a rush of anger, and asked quickly, "Did you see where it flew off to?" Trish shook her head, and then said, "You should stay here anyway, I called Lady, and she said she was on her way. Something big is gonna happen."

Dante noticed Trish was still shaking rather badly, so he wrapped his arms around her, trying to comfort her as much as he could.

†

Chaos flew as fast as he could, and within moments, landed heavily inside his church. He clutched at his head, as Dorian fought him for control. The fight began tipping in Dorian's favor when the strange sword they stole from Rahab began to glow. The golden flames spreading across the blade hurt Chaos, so the creature threw the sword to the ground. Through their connection, Dorian felt Chaos' pain, and both of them yelled out in anger at the Angel sword. For once acting as one, Chaos sent a bolt of energy at the sword. When it struck, the flames dimmed momentarily, but then returned, stronger than ever. With a savage roar, Chaos threw his entire self at the blade, changing back into Dorian. Dorian collapsed to his knees, exhausted after everything that happened. He saw the golden flames being smothered by the dark shadow of Chaos. Finally, they were extinguished completely, and black energy surrounded the sword. Out of curiosity, Dorian reached out, and touched the mass of energy. Red light erupted from the blade, revealing a transformed weapon. The blade was massive, single edge, and had a wicked sickle point. Strange spikes intertwined over the guard, as thought guarding something underneath. A similar nest of spikes covered the pommel. The transformed weapon now stuck itself in the stone in front of Dorian. Without hesitation, Dorian grasped the handle. As soon as he did, icy energy coursed through his entire body, and he transformed into Chaos, but only for a brief moment. He was surprised by that, because in that moment, he had complete control over Chaos. When Dorian changed back, he pulled the sword out of the stone, and looked at the glowing blade, a cynical smile flitting about his lips. "Let's see what you can do," Dorian said to the sword. He stepped outside, and saw a bunch of trees. He walked over, and cut one tree down in a single, fluid strike. As the tree began falling, Dorian jumped in the air, kicking the tree high up with him. He sliced it in half again, and kicked himself over to the other pieces. He kept moving as quickly as he could, slicing and jumping, attacking like a bat out of hell. When he had the tree cut into twenty pieces, he launched himself towards the ground. He looked up at the falling pieces, focused his energy, and slashed viciously at the timbers. Red and black blades of energy hurled toward the pieces, and when they hit, utterly disintegrated them. Dorian smiled and strapped the sword to his back, pleased with the power it held. With Rahab dead, Dorian needed to know what else he could do, so he focused his power, concentrating on the sigils burned into his wrists. His left wrist began glowing blue, while his right burned red. Bringing them together, Dorian felt a strange distortion ripple through his surroundings. When he looked again, he was in a pristine marble area, with Lucifer's palace off in the distance. "_I need to work on my teleporting skills," _Dorian thought wryly. He began the walking towards the castle, eager to have his questions answered.

†

In a quiet corner of heaven, a blond angel timidly walked up to a white throne. "Master? What is it you require?" The angel asked. A powerful figure stood from the throne, and walked towards the small angel. In a booming voice, it announced, "Dorian did not come to us. It seems we have misread humans and their emotions. Very dramatic death, I quite enjoyed it. However, this does change our plans. It seems Chaos needs to be brought out in the open. And what better way to do that then to give him all the blood and madness that he would thrive on? It is time to bring about the Apocalypse. Go, fetch Mundus. It is time to open the final Hellgate."

†

Dorian once again stood before Lucifer. This time, however, they were alone. Upon seeing Dorian, Lucifer said, "Come, let us speak in Eden." Dorian was confused for a moment, but before he could say anything, Lucifer transported both of them into an amazingly beautiful forest, filled with unbelievable flowers and other such beauty. "This is Eden? Why is it here?" Dorian asked quickly. Lucifer smiled, looking around at the wondrous garden. "It is one of the few favors god has granted us Fallen angels. When I Fell, the area that I struck on the earth was Eden. God saw fit to let me have it in the Chaos realm, seeing as humans only spurned its beauty. In this realm, the Chaos energies have caused the plants to grow more radiant. I spend much of my time here, as does Luvina and Ceria, two of three sisters who are the only Ladies you saw. Arkonia, the wife of Sephiroth, is the third sister, while Ceria is married to Archanfel. Luvina is unmarried. Anyway, I expect you are here for much more than idle talk, correct?" Dorian looked off into the distance, trying to see where the garden ended. He finally said, "I killed the angel, Rahab. And, I stole his sword, which Chaos altered. Why did this happen?" Lucifer looked at the blade strapped to Dorian's back and said, "This is an unexpected surprise. It may have been altered, but I recognize the blade. That is Pyriel, the fire of god. It was created, along with four other such weapons, for the specific purpose of eradicating demons. This particular weapon was crafted when angels harvested the Chaos energy of thousands of demons, using their souls and bodies to acquire their unique Chaos energy. The demons they collected were all born from the fire hell, and so had an elemental connection with fire. They were killed, their souls and bodies collected and purified to be molded into this weapon. The former ruler of the Fire Hell, Fyrus, was used to bind the souls into one, and create the blade. With Fyrus' death, The Fire Hell was taken over by Berial, who is dead now also. As for why the blade changed, it is fairly simple. The Chaos that lives inside you is powerful enough to rearrange the Chaos in the sword. He did this, changing the blade into something for you to wield. Unfortunately, the weapon you possess now is incomplete. It needs more to unleash its true potential." Dorian nodded, satisfied with the answer. He and Lucifer spoke for a while, but they suddenly felt a massive temporal distortion shake the Chaos realm. Lucifer's eyes narrowed dangerously, and he said, "Someone has opened a Hellgate. You have a new mission: go back to the human world, and seal the Gate, before Armageddon begins." Without hesitation, Dorian focused on the sigils, and transported himself back to the ruined church. Dorian saw a swirling vortex of red clouds in the sky. He saw demons pouring out of it, and so ran in the direction of the disturbance.

†

_Darkness swirled everywhere. Strange, dark figures were moving through the clouds. Looking around, he saw three red orbs floating in the darkness above him. A dark hand reached toward him, trying to grab him and pull him deep into the darkness._

"Ah!" Nero woke up in a cold sweat. The dream he just woke from had profoundly disturbed him. As he lay back down, Nero's arm began glowing. He got up, and slowly crept towards his window. Looking out, he saw dark, roiling clouds in the sky. "_great," _he thought, "_I hope it doesn't rain. I don't want my wedding ruined." _Nero layed back down, but couldn't fall asleep for a long time. Finally, he fell into a fitful, nightmarish sleep.

* * *

A.N

Cool, I finally figured out how to put in the author's note thing. anyway, this is shorter than usual, and I did try to fix the format. I have a new idea for how to do that, which I will try next chapter. anyway, I hope you all enjoy this, and please, feel free to coment. even if its bashing it, cuz then I know what to do differently. Well, cant wait to hear what you all think.

6


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